Thoughts on Canada itinerary

[burns3466]

Hi Dibbers

I've already posted a few weeks ago about the trip my husband and I (and our teenage daughter) are planning for next year to Vancouver for our silver wedding anniversary. Never been there before and have ALWAYS wanted to go (and go whale watching) so the planning stage is really exciting! So far we have narrowed it down to 2 tour operators who are offering good prices and very similar itineraries. Just wondered if experts and seasoned travellers to Canada could let me know if the itineraries are any good. We want a holiday where we aren't in the car driving for too long and we get sufficient time to enjoy each place we stay in without feeling rushed. So, the 1st company is offering this:

Fly out Monday 13th July 2020 wit Air Transat - arriving midday at Vancouver airport
Spend 4 nights in Rosedale on Robson (1 bedroom deluxe suite) – includes continental breakfast
Transfer from Vancouver downtown to Victoria (am I right that this will be approx. a 3 hour transfer – including ferry crossing)
Spend 4 nights in Chateau Victoria Hotel and Suites (traditional room)
Pick up hire car on 21st July and drive to Ucluelet (how long is the drive?).
4 nights at Black Bear cottage
25th July drive from Ucluelet to Victoria (am I right that this will be approx. 4.5 hours – extra if we stop en route?)
Float plane from Victoria to Whistler only once a day (if no availability would be bus transfer back to Vancouver and up to Whistler. Any idea how long a bus transfer would take?)
2 nights in Whistler (Aava hotel - deluxe 1 bedroom suite)
27th July - transfer from Whistler to Vancouver airport

The other quote is based on:

Same dates, same hotels, only difference is instead of staying in a cottage in Ucluelet, we would stay in Port Renfrew at the Wild Renfrew Seaside Cottages. The drive to Victoria would then be shorter (2hrs I'm told).

One of the travel agents has said they would recommend staying an extra night in Victoria (either adding an extra day to our holiday or staying one night less in the cottage and an extra night in Victoria) because the float plane usually departs at about 9am and without the extra night in Victoria, we would be driving in the early hours of the morning to catch the plane.

Any thoughts, suggestions, recommendations?

Thanks guys :-)

[Melbatb]

When we went we did:
Vancouver 4 nights
Picked up car and took ferry to Nanaimo which was a three hour drive to Ucluelet.
Stayed 6 nights in Ucluelet - loved it here and would happily have stayed longer!
Drove to Victoria - from memory it took about 5 or 6 hours! Took the ferry to Port Angelos and then drove to Seattle. It was a long day!
7 nights in Seattle.
Drove up to Whistler (from Vancouver it is about 2 hours) and stayed for 6 nights.
Drove back to Vancouver for the flight home.

This was all booked only 3months in advance (all DIY).

I would go with Ucluelet - it really is a special place. We didn’t really do Victoria so I can’t help you there.

Shout if I can be more help

[burns3466]

Thanks Mel. When you say the drive to Victoria took 5-6 hours, was this including stops along the way? Ucluelet does look lovely and I've heard it is great for whale watching. I suppose it's just the thought of driving for all those hours that feels me with dread. Not sure my daughter would be too chuffed with that either. Although I imagine a 6 hour drive in Canada would be a lot more intersting than a 6 hour drive on the M25!

[aly]

DS lives in Vancouver and recently had a few days in Ucluelet, he stayed in the Black Rock Resort oceanfront and he said it was stunning. We always stop at the Rosedale on robson hotel when we go and visit him, love the place its so handy and walking distance to all the attractions.

[Melbatb]

Originally Posted by burns3466

Thanks Mel. When you say the drive to Victoria took 5-6 hours, was this including stops along the way? Ucluelet does look lovely and I've heard it is great for whale watching. I suppose it's just the thought of driving for all those hours that feels me with dread. Not sure my daughter would be too chuffed with that either. Although I imagine a 6 hour drive in Canada would be a lot more intersting than a 6 hour drive on the M25!

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If you can’t get the plane then I would take the ferry from Nanaimo to Vancouver as you have to go via Nanaimo anyway.

The one thing I remember about the trip from Ucluelet to Victoria was DD throwing up so that would have taken some time

I really do recommend Ucluelet- I loved it there. It is worth the drive!

Is that helpful - do feel free to ask me anything! I love Canada (off there again next week to Quebec City )

[BigPetesWife]

You could always do ucluelet first and then Victoria. That way you wouldn’t need the extra night in Victoria as you’d already be there. We did our whale watching from Victoria so that’s always an option too. If you do go to ucluelet, I would highly recommend doing some kayaking. I found it so peaceful and relaxing.

I would also say that the drive is so beautiful that you won’t need to worry about the length (try using google maps for time estimates). Also, there are places to stop en route to break up the journey of you’ve got the time to do so. I would say that Ucluelet is worth the drive. Beautiful place.

[burns3466]

Thanks for the comments. I am now convinced by so many people telling me Ucluelet is amazing, that we definitely must go there

I think, given the choice, we would rather not go straight from Vancouver downtown to Ucluelet as that would be a very long day travelling. I'd prefer to break it up with a few days in Victoria first and then come back the night before the sea plane trip. However, the kayaking suggestion does sound pretty cool. My husband and daughter have been kayaking before but I haven't. I'm sure I could get the hang of it though, although I will probably be a lot slower than them!

[Melbatb]

You could do Vancouver-Nanaimo and then it is a 3h drive to Ucluelet. We got to Ucluelet about 4pm after getting to the port at 9am and we had lunch in Nanaimo! Then you only have the long drive to Victoria once and stay in Victoria after!

[Melbatb]

Oh and we picked the car up at Vancouver Airport!

[burns3466]

Hi Mel - so our other option could be that after our 4 nights in Vancouver, we get the ferry to Nanaimo and drive (approx 3 hours) to Ucluelet. Spend 4 nights in Ucluelet (whale watching, bear watching etc) and then drive back to Victoria, spend the night there then get the float plane the next morning to Whistler? That could work...